Vadouvan

Steven, welcome to e-gullet. Here are a few thoughts. I had lunch at RTM today with a co-worker who got a pastrami sandwich, he said it was delicious. I am sure your food will continue to evolve so take these comments with a grain of salt. I am well aware of the craziness that happens when new food operations open, one thing that has to happen in the middle of all that however is how the food is presented to the dining public. A few technical problems: Slicing is cumbersome... Your slicers wear sterile vinyl gloves which fit looser but they need to get gloves that fit thier hands. The gloves are too big and leave an overhang past the end of the thumb. It makes slicing closely annoying, and it takes them a bit longer than it needs to. Latex would be better but some people are allergic to latex. Look into Sterile Nitrile gloves. The knives are also not sharp enough and too wide. You need narrower sharper blades. General Housekeeping : I think it's a good idea that if one scoops out any food from the prepared foods containers, they should spread it out afterwards to cover the void created by the last scoop rather than one big hole in the corner, just looks better, it's little details that count. The meat scraps on the carving boards should probably be wiped off every now and then, less messy means more appetizing. What are your thoughts about leaving the corned beef and pastrami under a heat lamp as opposed to in some of the braisng liquid ? does it dry out ? It's also nice to meake sure the staff occasionally keeps an eye on wiping down the eating counter, again these are not slams, I am just saying it from the perspective of those who would want to sit at the counter and eat a sandwich. I look foward to trying a sandwich this weekend.

Pizza Lombarda Candele with boar is a tad undersalted but can be simply corrected with parmigiano. Which brings me to that point, the only one thing missing from Osteria is they should offer grated reggiano at the table for the pastas. Still delicious however. We are curious to see your reports. happy birthday.

So why use prosecco at all ? We agree..... It has no flavor if you cook it. No bubbles..... and strangely..........you probably are going to think I am wierd.... BUT... looking closely at the article and the photographs of the process, something looked strange. I thought I saw a word but just to be sure, I scanned and photoshopenhanced the picture. 2nd pic down on the right, wine is being poured into the pot and you can just make up the word on the neck of the bottle........." R O E D E R E R" Roederer.......as in Louis Roederer http://www.champagne-roederer.com/ Forgive me for being nitpicky but wouldnt one at least use a "prosecco" in a "prosecco" risotto. It's not even prosecco, not that Roederer is bad......just wierd. Go get phillymag.

Bill I believe the theory is that the residual heat from the risotto "ccoks" the oyster. That probably also explains why the recipe asks that the "risotto" be left to rest with a lid on the pot which is just a bit wierd as it is a technique used for pilaf style rice dishes. ......good one....

"Risotto made with Prosecco and an Oyster: Undercooked, pre-blanched rice in a winey liquid with no butter or cheese, no creaminess at all. On top a shucked oyster. (nice bernadaud china however) " Bigboss.... An interesting bit of information. This very dish is demo'd with pictures on page 187 of March's Philadelphia magazine. Whenever I read specific criticisms of food on e-gullet, I wonder if they are just stylistic differences between chefs or is the dish actually flawed. It is however completely impossible to judge that except for rare situations like this where the actual recipe is published. The recipe makes it more apparent why bigboss came to his conclusions. The recipe partly makes no sense, it basically is a "risotto" made with prosecco and water which should pretty much equal zero flavor. Curiously no stock is used (fish or light poultry) Furthermore it say's "the rice is finished when it is completely tender, yet still firm". A little confusing for anyone who hasnt made risotto with confidence. It also uses celery (which is bitter) and finished with a kumamoto oyster which seems like it would be overwhelmed completely. Does prosecco have any defining flavor that would warrant naming it as the wine of choice, it isnt like the risotto is "bubbly" after it's done is it ....

It may be worth it for nostalgia, I cannot comment on the food as I havent experienced it in 3 years. For multiple reasons not limited to it's size and location, the building alone regardless of what is inside it is worth several million dollars. It's one of the last few privately owned buildings in Philadelphia designed by Frank Furness AIA. I bet the realtors are scrambling like vultures already....... http://www.philadelphiabuildings.org/pab/a...chitectId=A0478

I have to agree with that.......Yum.

I would hope not professor, I am jealous about your Italian sabbatical..... Unfortunately Jeff Chodorow thought so......... http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/4163...is_italian.html

Katie, your point is correct but I think it has to be noted in context. First of all regarding the analogy, Brasserie Perrier not only isnt a brasserie by nature of it's interior design, it never actually served brasserie food until it started responding to that criticism. Even after that, it's only a few bar menu items and plats du jour. Osteria does at least strive to serve mostly simple style fare. By the way I believe only one pizza is $20 and most hover at $16. Regarding the issue of prices and nomeclature..... Contextually one cannot expect to pay the prices that one pays in Italy or France at either Osterias, Trattorias or Brasseries or Bistros. Those restaurants do not have the labor and real estate costs that a similar restaurant in the average American city would have to bear...........THUS.......the concept description is always a romantic notion. I think Osteria makes a credible attempt at remaining within that realm of food but the question is can they be profitable if the prices drom to true "Osteria" prices. I dont think it's that possible with that large a staff. Issue then becomes product mixing, people clearly arent complaining about $16 pastas at places like Mercato or Melograno (which arent anywhere nearly as good). I feel like it ultimately comes back to the Italian bias, and the proliferation of so many Italian BYOBs. Ultimately the restaurant should be judged by the quality of the food and the integrity of the cooking, at the end of the day does any restaurant in Philadelphia offer Osteria's food either better or at a cheaper price.....i can confidently say no.

You mean like the Nori croquant with the glucose and isomalt ?

Gabe. Send a PM to e-gullet member "Tartetatin". She is working on a cassoulet dinner in a few weeks and had not so good experiences with Assouline's Tarbais. She actually just came back from Paris and could not find them either. Tarbais beans are almost no longer grown in france. She should be able to provide you with a good source.

Awesome Phil, is it obscenely busy on saturdays already ? By the way you were wrong about the gentleman from Pennsylvania. Martinis change everything.

Jeez Katie...... Not a stab at all...just saying prices are in line with what's being charged in town....... I have had Mercato's pastas.......good but nowhere near O.

Speaking of Pasta prices..... These are even more expensive than O's http://www.mercatobyob.com/menu.cfm?sub_page=Pasta

http://www.phillystylemag.com/blog.cfm/blog/674.htm

Interesting, very interesting indeed.... A few observations.... 1. I have always suspected that a *lot* of the food media read E-gullet as "lurkers" not only for the obvious content but as a source of information and inspiration. 2. Her recitation basically mirror's the evolution of this thread. 3. She "gets it". No price complaints, great effort to research the food. 4. She obviously is a very good and solid writer. BUT i found this phrase amusing...... "I thought the chorus of acolytes and true believers was made up of some highly impressionable trend chasers who let the New York Times decide what’s good. But this time, all the rumors were true." I'ts pretty funny that people still get itsy bitsy riled up whenever the words New York come up in any food discussion. We aren't Ny whores here on E-gullet are we ?

DAgordon. How much and where did you find Minus -8 ?

Good pics again jeff

Generally restaurants + Televisions = seriously crappy food. Proven time and again.

Way better than Otto.....

Chowfun, please do not be deterred by the occasional post that reflects obvious intoxication. There is this continous bias against people who dine on weekends or people who come from New Jersey as a "bridge and tunnel" crowd, Frankly all these nasty categorisations reflect insecurity more than any substantive view of the dynamics of how restaurants function. Can we also say what we want to say in "english" without quoting Chaucer and Yeats, we are beginning to confuse e gullet with humanities class at Dartmouth.

Say what ?

Robert is correct, perhaps this needs it's own thread. Andrew I would say that acid test works for me, if you publish your process in the book (real fries) and then you use something else inthe restaurant (frozen fries). That is indefensible and deceptive. If you thought frizen freis were better, you should have just sadi so in the book. Matt, indeed you are one of 13 people in Philadelphia whose culinary opinions are worth thier salt. On the subject of fries though, I disagree, I am pretty sure they are buying SIMPLOT french fries however if you follow the same process with real #1 grade russet potatoes, they blow Bouchon's frozen fries away. Wash throughly skin on #1 russets. Shave on french mandoline and soak through 3 changes of water for about 10 minutes . Leave it in a bucket with ice cubes/ice water for about 3 hrs. Remove drain and fry. For every gallon of peanut oil, use one cup of duck fat. 1st fry 325 2nd fry 350 Rouge makes good fries and they have the volume, blue angel used to do the same. Anyone can tell the difference between simplot fries and real potatotes. Check out this site...... Folllow your way to the potatoes, yes they are consistent but they aint better. http://www.simplotfoods.com/index.cfm?cont...orner&article=1 It's bullshit, they are actually trying to rationalise frozen vegetables.... http://www.simplotfoods.com/index.cfm?cont...ype=-1&x=92&y=6 http://www.simplotfoods.com/index.cfm?cont...ts&class_id=151 Its not about better, it isnt better, its just more consistent. Back to Vetri.

Depends on how accurate you want to be..... There are specialty thermometers for air, liquid, surface, thermocouple, infra-red,probe. You can get a basic oven or probe thermometer like a Polder in any kitchenware stocker. For scientific accuracy... Click. http://www.coleparmer.com/catalog/Product_...rch=thermometer

Well Andrew.. TK made that quote in an interview shortly before the first opening of Per Se. Unfortunately yes .........since then they have been busted for using frozen fries. They claim that frozen fries give them consistency for the volume they serve. It is important to note we are talking about Bouchon and not the French Laundry or Per se. Either way it is a tad hypocritical because integrity doesnt compromise for volume. It is a bit funny that they cant justify cutting potatoes on a mandoline but they give the image of being precise about everything else.....